German publication rubbishes talk of Bayern Munich making summer swoop for Newcastle United's Nick Woltemade
Nick Woltemade was reportedly Bayern Munich's priority summer target before Newcastle United swooped in with 48 hours of the window remaining to take him off VfB Stuttgart's hands.
Stuttgart had set a price for Nick Woltemade that Bayern Munich refused to meet. Newcastle met the asking price as their striker search got desperate, and Bayern were left shellshocked, even branding Newcastle as 'idiots' for paying what Stuttgart were asking.
Since his move, Woltemade has been linked with Bayern ever since, and as the German's form has dipped, other German clubs' names have also come forward amid rumours that Newcastle want to cut their losses.
We can't imagine that Bayern Munich were ever going to pay what it would cost to take Woltemade away from Newcastle after they forked out almost £70 million for him less than a year ago, when Bayern wouldn't pay more than £50 million at the time.
Munich-based outlet says talks of Bayern Munich chasing Nick Woltemade are 'wild rumours'
That hasn't stopped the likes of German outlet Bild from trying to force the narrative at any given opportunity. Thankfully, Abendzeitung Munchen. (via Sport Witness) has a much more realistic take on things.
They claim that Bayern Munich haven't even been in contact with Nick Woltemade since he made his record-breaking move to Newcastle, and any talk of a move for the German international this summer is nonsense.
The publication calls them 'wild rumours at best' and insists there's no truth to the story, while conceding that Bayern did want to sign him before the start of this season.
Eddie Howe is experimenting to try and get the best out of Nick Woltemade
Eddie Howe has 'done a Joelinton' with Woltemade of late and withdrawn him from the striker role and brought him deeper infield.
It appears to be paying off as he is more involved with the game, but we still feel we need to see more from the 24-year-old. Watching him lazily jog around the pitch is becoming infuriating.
Considering he was a goal machine for the Germany Under-21 side in the summer, he seems to lack a striker's natural instinct and never gets into the box when he should.
It's things like this that make us question how much time he'll be given at Newcastle. It's going to be hard to move him on without taking a huge loss, which may save him. Also, we expect that with a full pre-season under his belt, we may see a different player next season. We don't want to give up on him yet by any means.
